Chapter 19 · Nobody Stays at Mile Nine

Hammer's voice was still crackling through Cole's radio when I grabbed it out of his hand.

"You got thirty minutes," Hammer said. Static chewed the edges. "Mile Nine checkpoint. Bring the crate. Take your people. I even let you walk."

I didn't answer. Didn't need to. He'd already cut the line.

Cole was staring at me. His jaw was tight. The rest of the crew had circled up behind us—Leah, Torres, a couple of the perimeter runners. All of them looking at me like I had an answer.

I didn't.

"We go," Cole said. His voice was flat. "Right now."

"We don't," I said.

"He's got civilians."

"He says he does."

Cole stepped closer. Close enough I could see the dust on his collar, the way his hands were shaking. Not from fear. From holding still. "You think he's lying?"

"I think he's baiting."

Leah moved up beside him. She didn't touch him but she was right there. Anchor. "If there's a chance—"

"There's always a chance," I said. "That's how traps work."

Torres spoke up from the back. Older guy, had some years in before the collapse. "We can't just leave them."

I looked at him. Then at Cole.